EISA Carnival NENSA Quota
Interested athletes who meet the criteria outlined below should contact Ben Theyerl, Competitive Program Director, no later than the Tuesday 3:00 PM prior to the carnival, in order to be considered for entry – contact Ben.
The EISA carnival circuit is the NCAA’s eastern college skiing series. Historically, the Carnival circuit has been a crucial developmental step for many American skiers in their journey towards international excellence.
The EISA and NENSA have an established system to allow non-collegiate athletes who have an established record of competitive success to participate in select carnival events.
NENSA Quota athletes must meet the posted criteria below.
Qualifying Criteria for NENSA Carnival Quota
- U.S. Ski & Snowboard/FIS points standards:
- Mass start distances races – ≤80 for men and ≤100 for women.
- Individual distance – ≤120 for men and ≤150 for women.
- Sprint Qualifier races – ≤190 for men and ≤200 for women.
- Athletes must meet the points standard for the gender field which they plan to participate in, see NENSA’s Transgender Participation policy here.
- The athlete must have met the standard on the current U.S. Ski & Snowboard or FIS list (Distance list for distance races; sprint list for sprint races) for the race they wish to participate in.
- If there are more qualified athletes than quota spots, athletes with the lowest points will be chosen first.
- In the event of a tie FIS points trump US Ski & Snowboard points.
- Points are taken from the valid points list being used to score the Carnival that a racer is looking to enter.
- No greater than 6 men and 6 women for individual start distance events and mass start distance events;
- No greater than 3 men and 3 women for individual sprint qualifying races.
- No sprint finals – The final sprint rounds will consist only of the top 30 EISA and skiers entered as part of a collegiate team. Any NENSA quota skier will be skipped over when populating the sprint heats.
- Relay Formats at EISA Carnival races are closed.
- Eastern Cup/SuperTour Restrictions
- The NENSA Quota is closed for juniors (≤U20) if there is a NENSA Eastern Cup event on the same weekend as the carnival, however, seniors (U23+) may compete if they meet the criteria.
- There is no NENSA quota for combined Eastern Cup/Carnival races. Racers can sign up for these races on SkiReg with valid U.S. Ski & Snowboard and NENSA memberships.
- NCAA Regionals/EISA Championships are closed to NENSA Quota skiers.
Non-point standard qualification:
Athletes who have earned the following national team designations may race under according to the same criteria above, regardless of whether they have met the current points standard:
- USST Cross Country A, B, and D Team members.
- non-US Cross Country A team equivalent, (i.e. Canadian A team members).
- USSS World Junior/U23 Team Members.
- non-US World Junior/U23 Members (i.e. Canadian World Junior/U23 team members).
- USBA Senior A team members
- USST Nordic Combined national team members.
